Abstract
Background
Malignant melanoma is a complex malignancy with significant morbidity and mortality.
The incidence continues to rise, and despite advances in treatment, the prognosis
is poor. Thus, it is necessary to develop novel strategies to treat this aggressive
cancer. Synthetic cannabinoids have been implicated in inhibiting cancer cell proliferation,
reducing tumor growth, and reducing metastasis. We developed a unique study focusing
on the effects of treatment with a cannabinoid derivative on malignant melanoma tumors
in a murine model.
Methods
Murine B16F10 melanoma tumors were established subcutaneously in C57BL/6 mice. Mice
were then treated with intraperitoneal injections of vehicle twice per week (control—group
1, n = 6), Cisplatin 5 mg/kg/wk (group 2; n = 6), and Cannabidiol (CBD) 5 mg/kg twice per week (group 3; n = 6). Tumors were measured and volume calculated as (4π/3) × (width/2)2 × (length/2). Tumor size and survival curves were measured. Results were compared
using a one-way ANOVA with multiple comparison test.
Results
A significant decrease in tumor size was detected in mice treated with CBD when compared
with the control group (P = 0.01). The survival curve of melanoma tumors treated with CBD increased when compared
with the control group and was statistically significant (P = 0.04). The growth curve and survival curve of melanoma tumors treated with Cisplatin
were significantly decreased and increased, respectively, when compared with the control
and CBD-treated groups. Mice treated with Cisplatin demonstrated the longest survival
time, but the quality of life and movement of CBD-treated mice were observed to be
better.
Conclusions
We demonstrate a potential beneficial therapeutic effect of cannabinoids, which could
influence the course of melanoma in a murine model. Increased survival and less tumorgenicity
are novel findings that should guide research to better understand the mechanisms
by which cannabinoids could be utilized as adjunctive treatment of cancer, specifically
melanoma. Further studies are necessary to evaluate this potentially new and novel
treatment of malignant melanoma.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 30, 2018
Accepted:
August 24,
2018
Received in revised form:
July 21,
2018
Received:
January 11,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
